44 Years in Solitary Confinement Is Even Worse Than You Can Imagine
Mother Jones
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Albert Woodfox, a cause célèbre in prison reform circles, was freed Friday, on his 69th birthday, from Louisiana custody after a negotiated settlement to end the oldest criminal prosecution in America. He spent nearly 44 years in solitary confinement, mainly at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly called “Angola.”
As far as I know, he holds the record for having been subjected to this punishment for longer than any other prisoner in American penal history. His nearest rival was Herman Wallace, who along with Woodfox was placed in solitary following the 1972 death of Angola guard Brent Miller. Wallace, wracked with cancer, was ordered freed two years ago by a federal court. Outside the prison gates, Carine Williams, one of his lawyers, asked: “Herman, do you know where you are?” The emaciated man looked at her and said, “Yes—I’m free.” He died two days later.
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44 Years in Solitary Confinement Is Even Worse Than You Can Imagine
